What we breathe while driving a car?
Recent years in big cities were marked by the increase of chronic diseases of respiratory system: chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Scientists and doctors link it to the sharp increase of motor vehicles. The car is the main source of environmental pollution. A child knows it. Two million cars daily emit 32 tons of harmful substances. But you can think that the environment is somewhere far away, outside the windscreen, but here in the cabin, you are in complete security. By no means! Let's avoid intimidating phrases and consider the main sources of danger in the car
Inside of a car
The health of the driver is harmed not only by polluted air from the streets which gets inside of a car through the ventilation system, but also substances released from materials and objects that are directly inside the car. Therefore, when buying you should be interested not only in the external beauty of the new car, but also in the composition of its inside upholstery and panels, and read labels when buying car care products.
The most common substances released from polymer materials of interior dressing are phenol, formaldehyde, xylene, solvents and other volatile compounds that are contained in paints, varnishes, enamels and adhesives. Unfortunately, producers do not indicate the full composition of materials and paints used in the compartment, so there can be a lot of surprises: phenol in the decoration and fillers of seats, aromatic hydrocarbons, toluene and xylene in paints, aromatic compounds of artificial leather of compartment, aldehydes, amines, acetone, and chlorides of synthetic fabrics.
When choosing a car, you should check the presence of foxiness and its accumulation in the cabin. It is desirable to sit in a closed car with the engine turned on and off, then ventilate the salon and observe the time of smell accumulation. If 15-20 minutes after the re-airing have passed and the smell became stronger, it will likely mean that that compartment materials are not very good.
It is important to choose good agents to take care of the car. You should draw attention to those kinds of liquids the evaporation of which may appear in the cabin, for example window washing liquid. Because of the lack of control over the composition of these fluids they often contain methanol. In vapour form it causes irritation of mucous membranes, dizziness, pain and even convulsions. It is therefore necessary to verify the composition on the label and avoid liquids containing methanol.
To avoid noxious emissions, it is important to store means of car care: Uncovered canisters can increase the concentration of harmful substances in the air of the cabin several times.
